Around here we adore whipped cream. Fluffy pillows of heavenly delight. Although I create light & healthy recipes, I use dollops of slightly sweetened whipped cream often. A little goes a long way. We add it to our oatmeal in the morning. We enjoy it on our pies, parfaits, cakes, shakes and cupcakes. We are not scared of real fat, that is what satisfies our bellies, minds and tastebuds. When enjoyed with mindful portion control there is no reason why real cream can’t be a skinny food.
One confession: I did not like whipped cream at all as a kid. Despised it. That is not the case with my kids…
*You can also see my recipe for Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream: Vanilla, Mocha, Coffee, Chocolate
They love it more than anything. They would bathe in it if they could. Basically they do bathe in it when they lick the whisk.
Another confession: Back before I started this blog. Before I had kids I did not know how to make homemade whipped cream. Quite frankly it scared me. That is scary that it scared me isn’t it?
I was fearful of the kitchen way back when. I hardly even cooked. Now all I do is cook. And style food. And photograph it…
A lot of you might be wondering “Why is Marla posting how to make whipped cream?” “Don’t we all know how to dump a bottle of heavy cream into a KitchenAid mixer and let it whisk until the liquid turns into a whip?” I really did not always know how to do this. Odd I know. Thank goodness my kitchen skills have improved over the years, otherwise this blog would not exist.
I bet a handful of you might have Googled “How to make homemade whipped cream” and you ended up here. That is great! Now you have no excuses at all.
I like to whip our cream for a while. Until it is almost butter. This way I can put the cream in a piping bag and the cream holds its shape when I decorate cakes and stuff.
If you whip it for a shorter burst then your cream is more silky and floppy. Just a preference really. Do what you like best. Just keep a good eye when whipping, once those fat globules get a lot of action your smooth cream turns to butter quickly! For dipping fruit you might like it lighter and fluffier (less whipping time.)
Some creams have more butter fat (the fatty portion of milk) than others. For instance this Cream Top Whipping Cream by Straus Family Creamery is one of our favorites. It has a richer flavor and higher butterfat content then some other heavy creams. It also has a slightly yellow/buttery color. Those cows must graze some beautiful pastures!
Just so you know the folks at the Creamery have no idea I am talking about them. They have no idea their cream is my muse here….
Always be sure your use heavy cream for homemade whipped cream. You need at least 30% butterfat to make sure the fat combines with the air from the whisk. This is what turns the liquid into the cream. Half and half won’t work. So don’t try to whip that OK?
Not only do I share basic vanilla whipped cream here, but also strawberry and chocolate so everyone is happy. Neapolitan whipped cream!
Just do me one favor…adjust ingredients according to your own tastes.
If you are sugar free like me go vanilla stevia drops to sweeten.
For vanilla cream use pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
For chocolate cream: use cocoa powder or melted chocolate to taste. Your choice whether dark, milk or white chocolate.
For the strawberry I mashed up hot strawberries, let ’em cool and mixed them into the cream. You could use any fruity preserves too. Flavor your cream with flavored extracts if you wish.
Some folks like to add a boozy touch, Creme de Menthe and Bailey’s Irish Cream are yummy. So is Amaretto. Since the alcohol is not cooked out you won’t want to serve that cream to the kids.
Just have fun.
Don’t over think it. Fake whipped cream in squirt bottles is not nearly as fun…
Let’s whip it shall we?
Are you a whipped cream purist? Do you like to add unique flavorings to yours? If so what are they?
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Whipped Cream Recipe Links
- Candy Cane Whipped Cream Domestic Fits
- Financiers with Raspberry Whipped Cream Sprinkle Bakes
- Flavored Whipped Cream Sips Etc.
- Fluffy Lime Cupcakes with Lime Whipped Cream The Culinary Chronicles
- Homemade Whipped Cream The Girl Who Ate Everything
- Oreo Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting Sips and Spoonfuls
Yum! I love making whipped cream…well, I don’t like it very much (I’m weird), but I love that my husband’s eyes light up when I tell him that I’ve made some. He’ll eat it on anything. I’ve never thought to flavor it other than vanilla, though! Love!!!
Caroline, amazing how peoples eyes light up with homemade whipped cream! Try some flavors out on your hubs. He is either a purist or not 😉
What a beautiful post, as always. Thanks for sharing your story. I would have never guess that something related to cooking/kitchen scares you. 🙂 You’re such a talented and creative chef….and always inspiring. I love making my own whipped cream for the same reason as yours. I love chocolate whipped cream the most….real dark chocolate is the best! 😛
Thanks so much Amy! There are still many things in the kitchen that intimidate me. Thankfully none of which are as simple as homemade whipped cream. Then again maybe they are….
I am with you on the dark chocolate 🙂
What do you use fot the dark chocolate frosting powder or a bar melted
Marla,
I just found your blog a week ago and have visited several times since. I’m laughing because I actually google searched “how to make whipped cream” yesterday! One day before your posting. You are right, so simple and delicious – yet the thought is intimidating to a first timer. I will be making it often. My kids are like yours, they love it on everything including their noses. I added vanilla and agave nectar to mine. Yum!
Julie, that is totally funny. See? Lots of folks do that. Now hopefully they will all come over here to learn how. You and your kids will be thrilled with the outcome!
I’ll admit I’ve never made whipped cream but I really have no excuse for why except that we love squirting it out from the can. Definitely going to whip some up the next time we’re in the mood for it. 🙂
Rachel, thanks for your honesty! Funny how a lot of us shy away from it at first. You gotta try soon. OK?!
Real whipped cream is heavenly! I have never bought those squirt bottles… Yuck.
Cheers,
Rosa
Rosa, me neither. Why bother?
Well..I absolutely agree with both of you 🙂 Store bought whipped cream sucks big time..You are right Marla, why bother? BTW loved the idea of using mashed bananas/mangoes 🙂
Can I just have a HUGE bowl of that with my DVR and the Bravo re-runs I want to catch up on and maybe a cookbook to read, in bed with it? yes, thanks 🙂
Averie, YES & YES!!! Large bowl of whipped cream + Bravo catch up time. Sounds like the perfect day!
I love homemade whipped cream. That’s the only way I’ll eat it!
I LOVE whipped cream. Nothing is more decadent then starting my day with whipped cream in my coffee. I prefer a little maple syrup in mine for sweetness. Yum!
I LOVE homemade whipped cream!
a while back I made strawberry to fill chocolate cupcakes, and it was THE BEST!!
Haha! That whisk is nearly the size of your precious boy’s head! What a great idea to flavor whipped cream… I never thought to do it, maybe because I’m nervous about messing with the purity of the plain whipped cream. Yours looks fantastic though! Thanks for the inspiration to try something new!
love whipped cream – with a little Champagne cognac – and some powdered sugar. x
Okay, the food looks absolutely amazing, but I have to ask, where did you get the amazing fushia and turquois bowls? They would make anything taste sweeter!
Wonderful blog!
Speechless… I’ll do some for my hubby 😉
such pretty photos of something so simple and delicious to make. Your son is precious holding the whisk! I love mine with a touch of vanilla:)
Oh boy! I’ll take all three please!
Nothing beats homemade whipped cream. Absolutely a treat!
I adore homemade whipped cream, and I make it all the time, too. But, I have never made chocolate or strawberry. Now I will, though. You are brilliant!
Natalie, you gotta try some new flavors. Addictive I tell you!
Love these ideas. I am a whipped cream fanatic. I don’t make it very often because I can eat the whole bowl.
A common problem my friend. I know certain folks also can’t keep jars of peanut butter in the house for the very same reason.
I love making my own whipped cream. We buy milk from a local farm. such a big difference from the store-bough one. And the cream, mmmm so so good!
Roxana, I really need to find a local farmer to buy milk & eggs from. You are right-such a huge difference!
Love all of the flavors! I will take a bowl of each:)
Never tried making my own whip cream. I will be making this over the weekend for sure! We like whip cream on our pancakes and waffles instead of syrup at our house. My kids think its more decadent than syrup. I like that it has less sugar!
Rebekah, whipped cream on pancakes and waffles is dreamy!!
Love this post — something so simple yet informative. I love whipped cream with a touch of rosewater and pistachios. YUMMERS!
Kiran, “rosewater and pistachios?!” Genius & elegant. Must try that!
My mom always used to decorate our birthday cakes with homemade whipped cream…and it really is the best! I love these fun flavor alternatives!
Oh lord have mercy! This is the perfect post…my husband could skip dessert altogether and only eat whipped cream 🙂 I like almost-butter whipped cream too 🙂
Whipped cream is the best! I love it with cinnamon on top of pumpkin pie….mmmmmm.
The photos in this post are just lovely! There is certainly nothing wrong with real fat.
Well, who could ever turn this down?!?
There is nothing better than fresh whipped cream!
Beautiful- I love it! I could bathe in homemade whipped cream, too! It’s so decadent and comforting at the same time 🙂
Beautiful!!! I love a great organic homemade whipped topping… love all your versions of it!!
Yummy Treat no guilt! I want a big fat dollop on my coffee right now. Where do you find those gorgeous bowls and plates? So pretty!!!
Too fabulous for words!
Looks like you weren’t kidding about your kids loving whipped cream! What a great culinary tradition to have at home.
I love homemade whipped cream! I always use my hand mixer, I’ve never thought of using the kitchen aid.. HA I’m definately going to have to do that next time. Have you tried cinnamon whipped cream? Love that! Going to be trying your yummy versions next.
I haven’t tried making whipped cream at home yet; I always end up using the heavy cream for everything else. Been purchasing the Land o’Lakes brand, but now I’m thinking next time I’ll search for this Straus Family one – just for those lovely bottles 😀
Looks like you made a LOT of cream. How do you store it and how many days does it keep well?
Whipped cream is probably one of my biggest weaknesses…like ever. Right up there with chocolate.
Wow homemade whipped cream…you had me at “cream”…I’m drooling! 🙂
This is so fun! When I was a kid, I dreamed of having my own apartment and being able to eat whole cans of squirt whipped cream (because I was a grown-up and could do what I wanted) . . .now that I have my own place and (I guess I’m a grown-up), I’d much rather have this 🙂 Thanks, Marla!
Wow..this is clear food 3x, Marla 🙂 Love..love your pictures!
we have a local dairy, and their heavy cream tastes like ice cream. it’s incredible!
i love the idea of a strawberry whipped cream – so fun for spring!
I’m with you, I whip my whipping cream a lot – the thicker the better! These look so delicious, makes me want to go make some right now. Something I don’t make often enough even though it really is so simple.
I have to have that bowl! Where oh where did you get it?
Wow, how beautiful and delicious does that cream look. Your pics are beyond gorgeous.
Thanks Angie. Photographing whipped cream was a treat in many ways!
I just love this idea of flavoring whipped cream!!! I’ve used vanilla before but never thought to use other flavors. Thank you for inspiring me!
This is HEAVEN!
Hi there, Thanks for the wonderful post – we love that our products are your muse! The buttery color of our cream comes from the high levels of beta-carotene that naturally occurs in the sweet coastal grasses our cows eat. This is typical for the Sonoma and Marin County region of Northern California where all of our cows graze. ~ Helen.
Homemade whipped cream sounds heavenly Marla! I’m going to try the strawberry soon.
I love whipped cream.
What a great extra touch! Great recipe to have on hand. Thanks for sharing!
hi, there! just found your blog through Pinterest and Google image search 🙂 I’m Jen, and I’m a busy (and exhausted) mother of 3 slash food blogger slash blog reader slash stylist and photographer wanna-be! love, love, love the look and the friendly feel of your blog! i’ll be lurking around 🙂
How do you store and how many days does it keep?
Store in a airtight container for a few days.
i want to try making the strawberry version
I love to whip up the real deal, but have never experimented with flavors!?! Time to change that status! Thanks for the whipped cream refresher course and the inspiration:)
Sue, I love the real deal too! Both are now favorites over here 🙂
Hello! Can’t wait to make this! Couldn’t agree more that one of the easiest yet most intimidating things to make! Could one use their blender for this? Thanks and have a great week!
How long does it keep in a refrigerator?
Charmaine, it lasted for quite a few days for us. Should last several days, check out this helpful post on whipped cream storage from The Kitchn
Can you store this in a refrigerator container until it’s time to put it on your cake or pie and it won’t lose it’s texture? I am planning on using it on some keylime pie slices but I wanted to make sure that the consistency would still be the same. I am so excited!
Hi Natalie, we store ours for a dew days. You might need to re-whip or whisk a bit before you serve though.
How much mashed up strawberries did you use? I am thinking about making a vanillia cake with strawberry whipcream frosting for the cake. Just trying to get an idea. 1 cup? 2cup? I just want the whipcream to turn watery and not hold its shape.
Please, please, please share where the dishes came from?
homemade whipped cream….looks…sooo…good…oooh–ho-ho-ho this is just SWEeEtLY meeeeean…BTW i dont blame you for being afraid (in the past) just for the THOUGHT of making homemade whip cream …
wud you believe I had this FEAR of making pie crust YES! pie crust…wen i heard how everyone HAD to have this crust ever sooo flaky etc. etc…i was like oooh NO! i aint makin that!!! (as though they asked me to open the closet where the monster CUD be…. lol) and today eud you believe I actually get compliments on a good crust!! hmph! whoodda thunk??
I am going to try white chocolate
Does this turn out if you do not have a stand mixer?
You can probably use a hand mixer.
i am a little behind on getting my Kitchen Aid mixer, we’ve been married almost 13 years with 4 kids and i could’ve really have used it for years, but just got it about 3 weeks ago. i’ve made mashed potatoes, cookies, whipped cream, and am just getting started. i am glad i found your blog, and i know you will give me some great ideas on how to use this fabulous new tool and make many variations of whipped cream. thanks!
I adore whipped cream as well. Cool Whip always tasted like plastic to me and I never really liked plastic so . . . One way I’ve used whipped cream is to make cream cheese frosting. I find that regular cream cheese frosting is too thick for my tastes and so I mix an 8oz block of light cream cheese into the mixer with 1/2 cup of sugar and beat it until it’s light and fluffy and then I add a cup of heavy whipping cream. The kind I buy is 35%. I mix that in until it has a frosting-like consistency and then sometimes I add flavourings such as chocolate, strawberry or vanilla. This will frost 9″ cake. The recipe can be doubled to frost larger cakes as well. I’ve used this recipe for strawberry shortcakes and people loved it. Thanks for the great blog. Cheers, Mireille
Such a great idea to change up cream cheese frosting!! Thanks Mireille 🙂
mmm I’m excited to make the chocolate whipped cream! I really need to get one of those whisks attachments!
Oh what about lemon zest or just lemon juice???(flavor)
That would be amazing!!! Go for it 🙂
Hi Marla!
As simple as whipped cream is I have been intimidated by it until reading your blog post. so thank you! Sometimes I use Starbucks vanilla syrup as a two for one – vanilla & sweetener.
On another completely unrelated note: where did you get that bowl pictured holding whipped cream..the turquoise with a purple & pink flower design on it? It’s charming.
I LOVE that you’ve come so far in the kitchen after being afraid
at first!!! I buy the food and do the cooking, when I do make or buy the unhealthy stuff its gone in a blink of an eye. I to try to express the importance of portion control,I cant seem to get through!! Your blog is an inspiration & I cant wait to try everything!! I LOVE your decor and the country yet chic feel!! I hope you end up with your own bakery or for my sake (selling your photo’s,they would be a beautiful addition to my decor and I bet atleast 5 other woman I know would LOVE THEM as well!)if you do sell your photo’s Id love to find out more!! Thank you for the recipes!!
For flavoring I’ve always used SF Jello or Pudding mixes. Maybe a teaspoon or two depending on amount of whipped cream I’m making. The mix blends in nicely.
Try putting a cup of dry brownie mix into it! Delish 🙂
Finally, I found the answer to my question and several others. The bowl can be found at http://www.laylagrayce.com/Products/Rose-Blue-Salad-Bowl__PIP51003002.aspx
Gorgeous!